Thomas t



' N0MOde1`) T. T. a@ J. M. DBAVBNPORT.

CAR GOUPLING.

No. 316,446. Patented Apr. 28, '1885.

WMA/m WI SSES i ATTORNEYS.

UNrTnn STATES PaTnNT @Triciae THOMAS T. DEAVENPORT AND JAMES M. DEAVENPORT, OF OKOLONA, MISS.

cAR-CoUPLiNe.

SPECIFICATION farming part of Letters Patent No. 316,446, dated Apri128,1885. .Application tiled September 525, 1884. (No model.)

To all lull/071?, it may concern:

Be it known that we, TrroMAs T. DEAvEN- ronfr and JAMns M. DEAvENronT, of Okolona, in the county of Chickasaw and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention consists in a draw-head provided at its front with upwardly and inwardly inclined prongs, on which the link catches when the cars are coupled. In a slot in the bottom of the draw-head a link-lifter is pivoted, which can be locked in place by a pawl mounted on a transverse shaft in the drawhead, the shaft having its end bent, and a heavy weight mounted on the said bent end, which weight is connected by a chain with a lever pivoted on the end or top of the car.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication,

in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l isalongitudinal view of two of our improvedcoupling devices, one being coupled and one being in section with the link raised. Fig. 2 is a plan view with one draw-head broken away. Fig. 3 is an end view of a draw-head, the link being in section.

The draw-head A is provided in its top with a recess, B, above which a top plate, C, is formed, the said top plate having a longitudinal central slot, D.

The bottom of the draw-head is provided with a longitudinal slot, E, in which is a pawl, F, which is rigidly mounted on a transverse shaft, G, one end of which projects from the side of the draw-head and is bent in the inverse direction of the pawl-F, aweight, I, being mounted on the bent end of the shaft.

Achain, H, has one end secured to a weight, I, and the other end is secured to a lever, J, pivoted on the end ofthe car and held in p0- sition bythe flange K of a plate, K, the Hange K forming the shoulders 7c lc', and at the top ofthe plate is a stop, 7c3.

From the bottom of the outer end of the draw-head two prongs, L, are inclined upward and inward, and project some distance above the bottom ofthe opening in the drawhead.

Between the prongs L a slot, M, is formed,

in which 'the end of the link-lifter N,` pivoted in the slot E, can swing, the said link-lifter consisting of a flat bar having a notch, m, in the bottom edge, near the middle, and a notch, P, in the upper edge, near the front end, which link-lifter also has a notch, W', in its bottom edge, near the free end.

The operation is as follows: When a car is to be coupled, the outer end ofthe lever J of the draw-head that :is to receive the link R is pressed down and passed under the shoulder lc', and thus locked in place. Thereby the weight J is raised, and the pawl F is swung down intro the slot E, as shown on the lefthand side of Fig. l in dotted lines. The entering link slides up the prongs L and over their upper ends and drops, and the link thus catches on the prongs.

To uncouple, the free end of the lever J is raised, thus permitting the weight I to swing down, whereby the pawl F is swung up and swings the link-lifter N, which raises the link to the upper rounded ends of the prongs L, thus permitting' of withdrawing the link. The end of the pawl F catches in the notch m, thus holding the link-lifter raised, and also preventing its being forced down bly links, Ste. W'hile the link-lifter remains raised in that position the cars cannot be coupled, as the link cannot catch on the prongs, between which the raised link-lifter is held.

To hold the link in one draw-head ready for coupling, the cross-piece of the link is placed belowV the link-lifter N, and then the linklifter is lowered so that the cross-piece of the link will be in the notch-WV of the said linklifter, as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The sides of the draw-head are inclined inward from the outer toward the inner end of the opening, for the purpose of guiding the link to the upper ends of the prongs, and also to permit automatic coupling on curves.

Having thus described our invention, we

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a car-coupling, the combination, with a link-elevator, N, having anotch, m, in its bottom-edge, of the pawl F, adapted to pass into the notch m and lock the link-lifter ,in the raised position, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination, with the link-lifter N, of the shaft G, the pawl F, and the Weight I on the bent end of the shaft, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In a car-coupling, the combination,with thelink-lifter N, of the shaft G, the paWl F, the weight I on the bent end of the sha'ft, the chain H,and the lever J, substantially as herein shown and described.

4. In a car-coupling, the combination, with the link-lifter N, of the shaft G, the paWl F, the Weight I, the chain I-I, the lever J, and devices for locking the lever at the desired elevation, substantially as herein shown and described.

5. In a car-coupling, the combination, with ihe link-lifter N, of the shaft G, the paWl F, the Weight I, the chain H, the lever J, and the plate K, having the flange K', substantially as herein shown and described.

6. The combination, with the draw-head A, of the inclined prongs L and the pivoted linklifter N, having notches m and W in its bottorn edge, and a notch, P, in its upper edge at the free end, substantially as herein shown and described.

7. The combination,with the draw-head A, having the sides of its opening inclined in- Ward toward the inner end of the opening, of

.the downwardly and inwardly projecting 3o prongs in the end of the draw-head at the bottom, and the pivoted swinging link-lifter N, substantially as herein shown and described.

THOMAS T. DEAVENPORT. JAMES M. DEAVENPORT.

Witnesses:

J AMES H. CHENNAULT, JOHN M. WooDALL. 

